Category: Prison
🦄 Prison
Philly March Demands Mumia Abu-Jamal Be Freed From Prison
Philadelphia, PA – After 40 years of incarceration, the movement to free Mumia Abu-Jamal continues. Hundreds gathered with a giant Mumia puppet outside Philadelphia’s City Hall near the statue of Octavius V. Catto before marching through streets south of Center City on December 11, 2021.…
🦄 Prison
The Death of Justin Crook, aka J-Mac Tha Coldest, in the Pima County Jail
Tucson, AZ – In the early hours of May 30, 2021, Justin Crook had a seizure on his way home from work. It was after midnight, and Crook had called a Lyft to drive him home following his closing shift at a downtown Tucson restaurant.…
Ruby Montoya Case Raises Questions about Cooperation and Movement Lawyering
Ruby Montoya is doing whatever she can to lighten her punishment after publicly admitting to a string of arson and sabotage attacks against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in 2017.
According to a recent article in The Economist, “Montoya agreed to cooperate with the FBI”…
Judge Chu Reverses Decision, Will Allow Cameras in Kim Potter Trial
Minneapolis, MN – Judge Regina Chu altered her previous ruling and has granted audio and video broadcasting of the Kim Potter trial, citing the surge in COVID-19 cases. The November 9 ruling (view below) came three days after a protest outside of the residence of…
Protest Outside Judge’s Home Calls For Cameras in Courtroom During Kim Potter Trial
Minneapolis, MN – A protest demanding justice for Daunte Wright and transparency in the courtroom was held outside the residence of Judge Regina Chu on Saturday, November 6. Community members and friends and family of Wright called on Judge Chu, who is presiding over the…
🦄 Prison
“Running Down the Walls” Event Highlights Prisoner Support
Philadelphia, PA – An annual 5K run/walk/roll benefit called “Running Down the Walls” aims to amplify “the voices of our comrades behind bars, lifting them up in their struggles,” and provide material support, according to Philadelphia Anarchist Black Cross, the host of today’s event in…
Prison Abolitionists Target Architectural Firm
St. Louis Park, MN – Red paint and posters reading “No new jails” were plastered on the door of architectural firm Klein McCarthy at the beginning of the work day on September 9. Responding to a nationwide call-out for #ShutEmDown2021 actions on the anniversary of…
🦄 Prison
Anti-Prison Protest Raises Ruckus At Philly Youth Jail
Philadelphia, PA – On the evening of Thursday, September 9, several dozen anarchists gathered in West Philly for a noise demonstration to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1971 Attica prison uprising. After marching in the street for several blocks, the unannounced protest arrived at…
Open Carry March for Teenager Killed in Downtown Indy
Indianapolis, IN – Led by the family of Dorian Murrell, a teenager who was killed during George Floyd protests, an open carry march snaked through downtown Indianapolis demanding justice for Murrell and calling for Black unity. Murrell was 18 years old and unarmed when he…
Line 3 Opponent Sentenced to Thirty Days in Jail
Hubbard County, MN – On August 4, 2021, in the first trial prosecuting water protectors since active construction of the Line 3 pipeline in the state, one defendant was acquitted, and the other was found guilty by a jury on two misdemeanors—public nuisance and unlawful…
Midwest Connections: A Regional Fight For Abolition
A wave of prison abolition actions and demands have swept the United States every August since 1979 from inside the walls to outside. New groups in the Midwest such as Abolition Is a Practice and Community Not Cages (CNC) are carrying on the Black August…
🦄 Prison
Arthur “Cetewayo” Johnson Ordered Released After 51 Years in Prison
Philadelphia, PA – Longtime Pennsylvania prisoner Arthur “Cetewayo” Johnson, age 69, was ordered released today after five decades in prison, 37 years of which he spent in solitary confinement. Johnson had been convicted in the 1970 murder of Jerome Wayfield, when he was just 18. The…
Surviving Sexual Assault and Seeking Accountability
St. Paul, MN – Around the world there are millions of survivors of sexual assault and sexual violence, and for many of them, their stories go unheard and are rarely believed. In the U.S., nearly 1 in 5 women have been raped or have gone…
Charge Added to Dorian Murrell’s Alleged Killer as Family Speaks Out
Indianapolis, IN – Less than three weeks before the murder trial of Tyler Newby is slated to begin, the family of Dorian Murrell, who Newby is believed to have shot and killed, held a press conference in front of the City-County building in downtown Indianapolis.…
Ex-Cop Derek Chauvin Sentenced to 22.5 Years for George Floyd Murder
Minneapolis, MN – In a landmark ruling, Minnesota Fourth District Judge Peter Cahill sentenced convicted murderer and former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin to over 22 years in prison for the killing of George Floyd. This is now the longest sentence ever given to a…
🦄 Prison
Demanding the Passage of the Hardel Sherrell Act
Saint Paul, MN – Nearly three years after Hardel Sherrell’s harrowing death in Beltrami County Jail, a legislative act named after him aims to stop the dozens of deaths in Minnesota jail cells. After losing her only son at the young age of 27, Del…
COVID-19 Deaths in Minnesota Prisons Continue to Rise
Faribault, MN – At least eleven people in Minnesota state prisons have died from COVID-19 as of February 17, 2021. Nearly 4,000 inmates, or two out of every five prisoners, have tested positive for the coronavirus. Families and advocates of prisoners have consistently staged protests,…
Police Attack NYE Noise Demo, Five Given “Politically Motivated” Felony Charges
Minneapolis, MN – On New Year’s Eve, authorities in Minneapolis attacked a crowd of nearly 100 without warning during a national night of noise demos held against the prison systems and in solidarity with incarcerated people. Police arrested three dozen and charged five people with…
🦄 Prison
Prison Abolition Advocates Rally Outside Federal Prison on NYE
Lakewood, CO — As 2020 comes to an end, prison abolition advocates around the world will be continuing an annual tradition of demonstrating outside of prisons on New Year’s Eve.
A call for New Year’s Eve prison solidarity demonstrations was circulated earlier in December by…
🦄 Prison
Myon Burrell Released Following 18 Years in Jail
St. Paul, MN – The Minnesota Board of Pardons announced Tuesday evening Myon Burrell’s life sentence will be commuted to 20 years and that he should be released immediately from the Stillwater Prison. Burrell was convicted as a teenager for the murder of 11-year-old Tyesha…
🦄 Prison
Slain Oglala Lakota Woman’s Convicted Murderer Granted Parole, Release Delayed
Sacramento, CA – An Oglala Lakota woman’s convicted killer had his sentence commuted earlier this year by California Governor Gavin Newsom, which made him eligible for parole seven years earlier than his original sentence. Rodney “Patrick” McNeal was found guilty of second-degree murder and on…
Feds Leverage Civil Disorder Charge Against George Floyd Protester
Saint Paul, MN – Charges against an Illinois man facing federal felonies from this summer’s uprising in Minneapolis showcase the tactics, techniques and procedures applied by the U.S. government against some of the more enthusiastic participants in the George Floyd rebellion.
Repressive responses by the…
Former Probation Officer Convicted of Double Murder Commuted by California Gov., Granted Parole
Sacramento, CA – On Tuesday, October 20, the State of California granted parole to Rodney “Patrick” McNeal, who had been sentenced to 30-years-to-life on May 3, 2000, for the 1997 murder of his wife and unborn child. He was suspected for the brutal killing of…
Chauvin Has 3rd Degree Murder Charge Dropped, 2nd Degree Charges Upheld
Minneapolis, MN – Unintentional second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges have been upheld on Derek Chauvin while the third-degree murder charges were dropped in a pretrial ruling made by Judge Cahill on Thursday, October 21.
Responding to motions and orders filed in the run-up to…
🦄 Prison
Whistleblowing RN Complaint Revealed Two Years After Death of Inmate
Sartell, MN – Complaints from a nurse surfaced during a recent investigation into Hardel Sherrell’s 2018 death in the Beltrami County Jail. The whistleblowing complaints of medical neglect, further findings, and a new Kare 11 investigation has led to the director of the Minnesota’s Department…
Reports of Forced Sterilizations in ICE Facility Spark Protest
Minneapolis, MN – Nearly a hundred people gathered in South Minneapolis to protest recent revelations of non-consensual hysterectomies sterilizing detained immigrant women in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in Georgia.
Unicorn Riot was live for most of the protest at the Emiliano Zapata…
Pretrial Begins: County Attorney Freeman Pulled from George Floyd Police Prosecutions
Minneapolis, MN – The pretrial hearings for the officers charged in the murder of George Floyd began on the morning of Friday, September 11. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the courthouse and chanted for hours as several motions were heard in court.
Hennepin County Attorney…
Two Years Later: Protest at MN-BCA Seeks Justice for Hardel Sherrell
ST. PAUL, MN – 27-year-old Hardel Sherrell died in a cell in Minnesota’s Beltrami County Jail on Sept. 2, 2018. He died a tortuous death of medical neglect, suffering from an undiagnosed case of Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare condition that attacks the nervous system.
Family…